


Scarred Worlds (One Last War)

by LadyMurasaki



Series: Empire [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Sburb/Sgrub Sessions, Humanstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-19 20:14:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5979706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMurasaki/pseuds/LadyMurasaki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over 250 years ago, the world ended. Or so whispered historians amongst their dusty tomes, hidden away from the prying eyes and ears of the Empire that would label them traitors and rebels and dead men.<br/><br/>[[A Prologue to the Empire series]]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scarred Worlds (One Last War)

Over 250 years ago, the world ended. Or so whispered historians amongst their dusty tomes, hidden away from the prying eyes and ears of the Empire that would label them traitors and rebels and dead men. 

In truth, it ended much earlier than that, hundred of years previous when what’s believed to have been a simple border dispute between countries exploded into a world-wide war and dragged on for so many years after that the original dispute was all but forgotten. 

Cities, countries, entire continents were ravaged in the violent battles, populations declined drastically, governments buckled and crumbled under the pressure of endless war. 

The three leaders of Ochary, Agava, and Brustein -- the largest of the surviving countries -- came together to fight off a common threat, and then turned to each other, not in conflict but in peace for the first time in years, forming a tight allowance that wouldn’t allow for any in-fighting. They reached out to other country leaders, trying to extend their reach, spread the truce across the globe in the same way that hatred had once infected them all. Only a handful more joined the coalition, small countries that had been all but wiped from the map by that point, but they were accepted with open arms nonetheless. Libeton, Athistan, and Etraia took some convincing, but eventually joined the fold. 

Others weren’t as eager; the scars and resentment had run too deep, hatred bred to thoroughly into their blood, their country hit too hard, to set aside their anger. These countries turned on the coalition, lashing out with all of their rage, only to be rebuffed by the combined forces, and eventually subdued through one means or another. 

The enforced peace should have been a relief for all, but it had been a painful achievement. The leading countries -- now known as The World Coalition -- may have shared goals, but differed ideas for execution. Countries that had fought back had been wiped from the planet and taken into the fold in turns, depending on the whims of the Coalition, and the randomness of the decisions left patriotic citizens of destroyed countries bitter and angry with their lots in life. Uprisings came and went in waves, as disgruntled citizens banded together and were forcibly disbanded, again and again and again. Even in the relative peace, there was bloodshed, in the streets rather than on battlefields. 

Rather than inflame the war-weary people, the bloodshed only wore them down further, inspiring them to fight to find the scattered pieces of their lives and try to piece themselves back together; rebels were shunned, and the uprisings lost traction as more and more people turned away to find their place in a world without war. Most of them had never known such a place, and the youngest were quickest to pick up and carry on, leaving their elder’s bitterness and anger behind them. 

The next war came years down the line, something that the people both expected and hoped would never come to pass. The Coalition, having never been able to agree upon even the simplest of decisions, was crumbling like so many government bodies before it. Negotiations broke down over how to rule over the tattered remains of the world, and their laws against in-fighting crumbled when Athistan turned his armies on Brustein, believing himself the better ruler. Those holding loyalty to disenfranchised countries stepped up once again, taking advantage of the coalition’s loose footing, and the world hunkered down for another hundred years of war. 

This war only lasted three years, brought to a stuttered halt by the bombing of yet another attempt at negotiations. 

Only two leaders were pulled from the wreckage alive, one of whom had received such ghastly wounds that he couldn’t even be identified. He passed away days later, and all mourned the unknown leader as if he were their own. All, save Agava -- home country of the remaining Coalition leader -- who celebrated her miraculous survival. 

Countries scrambled to replace their deceased heads of government by whichever means were most familiar to them, but the Lady of the Coalition ignored and denied counsel to them all, angering them and raising suspicions of the bombing’s circumstances. 

The Lady was harsh and firm in her rule, appointing her own people in places of power across the world and efficiently squashing all signs of revolt with a growing army. 

Her iron-fisted rule lasted nearly twenty-five years, whereupon she passed her crown to her eldest of daughters and declared the world to be under her blood’s rule. 

And thus began the grand finale in the world’s end. 


End file.
